Teacher's Guide for DIG ^TM Secrets of Ancient Tombs

1. Understanding Culture

   Objective:

   To introduce students to the concept of culture.

   Procedure:

   Several days before they read the magazine, ask students "what is culture?" Guide students in a discussion of the different forms that culture takes including language, traditions / customs, activities, and the objects that people use in their everyday lives. Objects are very much a part of culture and help students to see the great deal of variety in cultures (past and present) around the world. Some cultural differences that students may be aware of are chopsticks as opposed to a fork or a kilt instead of pants. Be sure to impress the fact that culture is dynamic, different from place to place and always changing. Students should be guided to realize and understand that while there are many differences between cultures (in the form of unique customs or objects) there are also a great number of similarities. As will be seen in the articles, cultures have different methods and customs associated with burial but all the cultures mentioned did bury their dead. Every human society has developed specific practices and ceremonies to deal with death.

   Follow-Up:

   Ask students to brainstorm creating a list of objects and activities that are part of their American culture. Have students keep a running list in their journals over the next few days until you read the magazine.



2. What can burials teach us?

   Objective:

   To determine students' previous knowledge and introduce them to the information that can be gathered from burials (cemeteries).

   Background:

   From their real life experiences and exposure to media, students (depending on grade level) will likely have some idea about tombs, burials and cemeteries. Cemeteries, derived from the Greek word for "sleeping place," are cultural institutions that symbolically dramatize many of a community's basic beliefs and values about what kind of society it is, who its members are, and what they aspire to be.

   Do Now / Warm Up:

   Free-writing - write the word "grave-yard" or "cemetery" on the chalkboard. Have students write down their first impressions, what the word brings to mind or means to them.

   Activity:

   Arrange for a class trip to a local cemetery. Prior to the trip have a class discussion about some of the things that the students might see at the cemetery. For example, students will see tombstones, possibly mausoleums. While at the cemetery, have students team up into groups of 3 or 4 and complete a work sheet. Design the worksheet to contain questions that will enable students to gather information from the cemetery and about people buried there. While at the cemetery, have students create tombstone rubbings if permissible (page 10). (Be sure to get permission from the cemetery for the trip and all activities. Get a copy of the cemetery rules.)
   
   Worksheet Examples:

   1. Using your physical senses at the cemetery, describe what you smell, see, hear, and feel.
   2. List 3 different images (objects) that you see on the gravestones at the cemetery. What do you think these images mean?
   3. Locate a gravestone from the 1800s and one from the 1900s. Compare these two tombstones in terms of shape of stone, epitaph and symbols.
   4. Find three gravestones which provide information about the person they represent. Write down the name, date of birth and death and any other information from the tombstone.
   5. If you cannot create tombstone rubbings, add the following to your worksheet: On the back of the worksheet, draw any three gravestones in the cemetery.

   Follow-Up / Homework:

   Using the information gathered in the cemetery, have students write a brief paragraph about who the person buried in one of the graves might have been. What facts were they able to uncover from the grave marker?

Objective: To determine similarities and differences in the burial practices of cultures in different places and times.

While reading the various articles in the magazine keep a running list of commonalities and differences of the burials. Part of archeological process is akin to detective work. This exercise can introduce students to the concept of charting and data correlation. Since this might take place over the course of 1 or 2 weeks, set up a dry erase board or use butcher paper to display the ongoing process of collecting evidence. Students might want to illustrate the evidence board by sketching the descriptions of the burial and the objects within.

For each article create a list of characteristics of the burial. For example: what is the body clothed in; are there any objects in the grave; what type of grave is it; is there any artwork present . . .

After reading each article, have students compare the data, creating a chart of similarities and differences. This will enable students to see which objects and actions are unique to one culture or common to all.

1. Create a Tomb

   Objective:

   Create and analyze a burial tomb and the items within.

   Materials:

   paper
   pencils
   rulers
   books or images of ancient tombs to spark students' imagination

   Procedure:

   Have students work in groups of 4 or 5 for the following activity.
   
   Provide students with a list of ancient civilizations to choose from. After the group chooses the civilization, have each student imagine they are a King or Queen living in that civilization thousands of years ago. Since they believe in an afterlife, have them plan what items they would like to have buried with them in the tomb. Students should create a list naming each item followed by a short description as to why they would include that item. After five to ten minutes, have the students, within the group, share and discuss their responses.
   
   Have the group discuss their responses and create a plan for a single burial tomb and the items that will be enclosed within. This plan should take the form of a written outline and a floor plan. (See "Design a Tomb" page 26.) At this time students should omit the description of the objects they would place in the tomb but should note the objects on the floor plan.

   Wrap-Up / Homework:

   Have each group exchange their plans for the burial tomb with those of another group. Acting as archaeologists, have students write an analysis of the contents of the other group's tomb. In this analysis students should address the following: Why were the different items included in the tomb? What can be inferred about the life of the person buried in the tomb from the contents of their tomb?
   
   Groups can share and discuss their tomb analyses. Have them consider and compare their intent with the other group's interpretation. Is there room for error in the archaeologist's interpretation?



2. Preservation

   Objective:

   To Understand the Environmental Effects on Preservation

   Materials:

   drawing paper
   colored pens / pencil
   silly putty

   Procedure:

   After having read "Protecting the Past," ask students "Why is preservation important?" and "Why would we want to preserve the Etruscan paintings?" Guide students to understand the information about culture and technology that paintings, such as those from the Etruscan tombs, provide. There are several activities (through social studies and science) that can help students to understand preservation; one example follows:

   1. Have students use colored pens and / or pencils to create a drawing that depicts a cultural scene in America. (Students can draw inspiration from a holiday that might be approaching or games and sports they are familiar with.)
   2. Have students place their drawings in as many different locations and environmental conditions as possible. For example, place some of the drawings on the windowsill in direct sunlight and others out of the light. Try to place some in a dry location and others in a humid location. Leave some in an outdoor location to see the effects of nature.
   3. After one week look at the drawings and compare how the different environments have affected the paper and the color of the ink or pencil. Do this again after two weeks. To replicate a classroom version of the preservation method used on the Etruscan tombs have students transfer the images using silly putty.

   An ongoing extension of this lesson would be to observe various objects that are left outside exposed to the elements. Archaeological artifacts are often found in different states of preservation based on their materials and the conditions in which they had been buried. Some suggested objects are paper, wood, cloths, an apple, a bone, and pottery. Students can observe how time and nature affect different items and materials. This extension can easily be turned into an ongoing science experiment / project for the school year.

Web Sites:

• www.nationalgeographic.com/egypt/ - Interactive exhibit of the Tomb of Tutankhamen (King Tut) on the National Geographic web site.
• www.upenn.edu/museum/Collections/royaltombs.html - Treasures from the Royal Tombs of Ur - A Traveling Exhibit at the University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology.
• www.doc.mmu.ac.uk/RESEARCH/virtual-museum/Menna/ - A virtual reality tour of the Egyptian tomb of Menna. Includes a tomb plan and photographs.
• www.friesian.com/tombs.htm - Egyptian Royal Tombs of the New Kingdom. Mostly text but this site does contain a floor plan of several tombs.

Books:

• Jeanne Bendick. Tombs of the Ancient Americas. (First Book: Examining the Past).
• Ganeri, Anita and Colin Sullivan. The Search for Tombs. Raintree / Steck Vaughn, 1997.
• Krulik, Nancy E. The Mysteries Of Ancient Egypt. New York: Scholastic, 1996.
• Madison, Arnold. Mummies In Fact And Fiction. New York: Franklin Watts, 1980.
• Moses, Brian and Adam Hook. An Egyptian Tomb (Look Inside). Raintree / Steck Vaughn, 2000.
• Natalie, Jane Prior. Caves, Graves and Catacombs: Secrets from Beneath the Earth (True Stories). Allen and Unwin, 1997.
• Reeves, Nicholas. Into The Mummy's Tomb: The Real Life Discovery Of Tutankhamun's Treasures. New York: Scholastic, 1992.

Other Resources:

• Archaeology Magazine
  www.archaeology.org
  The web site for Archaeology Magazine contains many interactive excavations.
• Archaeological Institute of America (AIA)
  656 Beacon Street
  Boston, MA   02215-2006
  (617) 353-9361
  www.archaeological.org

Home

Back

Print

Updated: 9/7/08 06:20 pm
Log In